The present disclosure relates to a light source module.
In general, incandescent bulbs or fluorescent lamps are frequently used as indoor or outdoor lighting devices. However, the lifespan of the incandescent bulbs or the fluorescent lamps is short, and therefore, it is necessary to frequently replace the incandescent bulbs or the fluorescent lamps with new ones. The fluorescent lamps can be used for a long period of time as compared with the incandescent bulbs. However, the fluorescent lamps are harmful to the environment. In addition, the fluorescent lamps are deteriorated over time, and therefore, the illumination intensity of the fluorescent lamps is gradually reduced.
In order to solve these problems, there has been proposed a light emitting diode (LED) capable of exhibiting excellent controllability, rapid response speed, high electric/light conversion efficiency, long lifespan, low power consumption, high luminance, and emotional lighting. Also, there have been developed various types of lighting modules and lighting devices employing the LED.
The LED is a semiconductor device that coverts electric energy into light. The LED has advantages of low power consumption, semi-permanent lifespan, rapid response speed, safety, and environmental friendly properties as compared with existing light sources such as fluorescent lamps and incandescent bulbs. For these reasons, much research has been conducted to replace the existing light sources with the LED. Furthermore, the LED has been increasingly used as light sources of lighting devices, such as various liquid crystal displays, electric bulletin boards, and streetlights, which are used indoors and outdoors.
A light emitting device (hereinafter, the light emitting device is mainly referred to as an LED, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto) is used in the form of a plurality of light emitting devices that are integrated to implement high luminance. Thus, the light emitting device is fabricated in the form of a light source module for improving assembly convenience and protecting the light emitting device from external impact and moisture. In the light source module, a plurality of light emitting devices are integrated with high density, and hence higher luminance can be realized. However, heat of a high temperature is generated as a side effect. Accordingly, much research has been conducted to effectively dissipate heat from the light emitting module.
Under the circumstances, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1472403 filed and registered by the present applicant has disclosed a light source module for solving the problem of heat dissipation.
The light source module above is fabricated by coupling, to a heat sink, a printed circuit board (PCB) having a plurality of light emitting devices mounted thereon. However, such a fabrication method requires a plurality of processes. For this reason, fabrication time is increased, and much cost is required. In order to improve heat dissipation efficiency, a thermal pad is further inserted between the printed circuit board and the heat sink. However, the heat transfer property of the printed circuit board is not excellent, and hence heat is not effectively transferred to the heat sink. As a result, the problem of heat dissipation, which occurs in high-luminance light source modules, is not solved. In addition, it is necessary to separately insert the thermal pad, and hence cost and time are further required.
It is important to enable lighting devices to emit brighter light. However, as light source modules emit brighter light, a larger amount of heat is generated. If the heat is not dissipated, the lifespan of the lighting devices is shortened.